Chestnut Hollow Vessel

This was a piece of one of the branches I cut off a crotch that got made into a bowl. Rather that pitch it, I put it on the lathe and turned two tenons on it and then made a hollow piece- hollowing from the bottom because the hole is only 5/16” in the top. I wanted to see if I could make a super thin flange and it worked out pretty good. There was the usual crack that appeared but some epoxy and sawdust filled ‘er up . I plan to make a finial plug for the top at a later date .

It is 2 3/4” dia. and 5 1/4” high and finished with clear glaze spray

-- Jim Jakosh.....Practical Wood Products...........Learn something new every day!! Variety is the Spice of Life!!

Hi Mike. I just happened to find all this chestnut wood when I was picking cherries at the orchard- they have cherries and chestnuts! They will have a whole lot of wood next year when they cut down all the Asian chestnut trees in the orchard. They found that when the Asian trees pollinate the European trees, the chestnuts rot on the tree. Through studies at Michigan State University, they found that could graft Korean chestnuts to the growth that comes up from the trees they cut down and the pollination of the European trees is just fine, so that is what the plan to do in the future

Hi Joe, there is a plug in the bottom that I turned to fit the recess I cut in there. I had it marked well when I cut it in two so it went back right in line with the grain on the piece.

I turn a tenon on both ends of the log. then I cut off a shor pice off the bottom.
I turn the outside of the top piece roughly to size,then bore the inside to make a uniform wall and a small mortice in the bottom.Then I turn a small tenon on the short piece to fit and glue it in and continue to finish the piece holding it by the bottom tenon I first turned on that short part of the log.

Cheers, Jim

-- Jim Jakosh.....Practical Wood Products...........Learn something new every day!! Variety is the Spice of Life!!

Hi Dave. I finished the top with a 3/8 bowl gouge and when I worked under the flange, I went in with a push cut using the nose of the gouge and then turned the gouge and brought it out with a scrape cut. I did get a catch ,too, and that is why I decided to turn it to sweep it out.

Cheers, Jim

-- Jim Jakosh.....Practical Wood Products...........Learn something new every day!! Variety is the Spice of Life!!